The Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka in 1912. The main character, Gregor, who experiences metamorphosis, is victimized throughout the remainder of his life as an insect. Although it was not his fault initially to become a vermin, he deals with it the best he possibly could; however, his family did not. As Gregor is growing more isolated from the household, the better off he is. He psychologically distances himself from others, hides underneath his couch, and hopes he would somehow reverse the metamorphosis and go to his old self. But as time passes by, Gregor stops fighting his inner battle and accepts the fact that he is no longer a part of the human race, which urges him to reminisce. Then, he finally realizes that the more he worked for the family, the less loved he was; he spent no quality time with them, but was always expected to bring home the money and work harder and harder, beyond his limits, which he mentions in the beginning of the novella: “Other traveling salesman live like harem women. For instance, when I come back to the inn during the course of the morning to write up the necessary orders, these gentlemen are just sitting down to breakfast. If I were to try that with my boss, I’d be thrown out on the spot”(3). Through his transofrmation into a hideous creature, i.e a veminous insect, Gregor becomes more similar to the rest of his surrounding and his metamorphosis depicts the failure of humanity as he becomes, in many ways, more human than the rest of of his family, while at the same time, altering his lifestyle to the one of a vermin.
“One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he found himself transformed into a gigantic insect”(1). The opening ...
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...st of all, not appreciated. Perhaps, not even loved. Although he was hoping for a better future once he paid off his parents’ debts, to finally do something for himself and eventually, make a name for himself, the metamorphosis he experienced was a blessing in disguise. Despite being tortured and hurt in so many different ways, Gregor finally gets the opportunity to see the way he was treated from another perspective, and had learned that not everything is as good as it might seem. Chances are, he probably would have payed off the debt, but he would still need to continue to care for his family financially, thus, never reaching his goal or the desire that the woman in the fur boa represented for him. And although Gregor physically did not resemble a human by the end of his short life, he still showed more humanity, care and dignity, than the society did towards him.
He suffers mental and physical pain, including weapons and hurtful words, but, by the end, Gregor recognizes that he is never truly wanted and that everyone fakes compassion for him. Gregor dies in peace knowing that his family will move on without him and that satisfies him. All he wants is for his family's life to be easier, because he loves them. And despite all the cruelty done by both weapons and mental actions, Gregor finds a way to forgive his loved ones and dies to make their life
Gregor Samsa is the protagonist in the famous novella The Metamorphosis, written by the Czech author Franz Kafka. Gregor goes through a physical metamorphosis during his sleep, awaking to find himself entrapped in the body of a giant insect, not knowing how or why it happened. Yet, throughout the story you see that Gregor’s humility, as a human and as an insect, shows that he truly cares for his family in the 1915 classic. Through Gregor’s love for his now neglectful family, we can ask this question: is Gregor actually more human than his family? This question can be answered by looking at one of Gregor’s greatest attributes, his selflessness.
First and foremost Gregor was betrayed by his own parents who failed to care for him after his transformation. The initial reaction of the parents, especially his father, set the tone for the whole novel. Instead of trying to resolve the issue with a reasonable solution, his father physically abuses him, “when from behind, his father gave him a hard
‘’This internal lack of self-esteem and the insecurities it produces are heightened by the change in his body. One of the major problems to reading The Metamorphosis is accepting Gregor’s transformation as literal and not merely symbolic; he has really turned into an insect. The strangeness of this fact, along with his and his family’s reactions to it, is what makes the narrative so fascinating and rich in interpretative possibilities’’(Silet). In the Metamorphosis it’s quite odd the way his family reacts to him during his transformation from a human to a creature. They act as if it was something common like, a flu or something. The fact that Gregor initially greets his metamorphosis with a chilling calm suggests that he previously saw himself as vermin like. In the same sense even when he knew he was a bug all he could think about was not being late for work. And even though Gregor was not the best salesmen he made going to work a priority because he wanted to provide for his family, Gregor never missed
In Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," some might argue that Gregor was a terrible person and his metamorphosis was not real, but only an illustration of the terrible person he had become. However, it can much more strongly be argued that he was an extremely unselfish person and his actions were largely taken for granted by his family. Kafka was emphasizing the common practice of selfless actions being unappreciated through his story of Gregor and his family.
Before the transformation, Gregor was a human form of nonchalant reclusiveness. It’s almost as if it was crucial for him to go through the conversion so he could become more emotionally aware despite the irony of him not even being human but a bug. For someone who has been human for about 20 years with absolutely no experience of being an insect, then suddenly become more humane as a creature is odd and outlandish. Gregor’s care for his family increases and begins to worry about their loss of financial and emotional security. He fears that what “if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end?” Gregor’s attitude towards his transformation is hopelessly mundane: he does not question why he has been transformed into a cockroach. Significantly, he fails to find the horror and the absurdity in the situation. Right before his death, Gregor feels all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings about his family members. Despite his pathetic condition, he seems more humane than the rest of the characters. In a way, Gregor’s transformation and all of the events after that day illustrates both the rewards and sacrifices of defying social convention and living the extraordinary
“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. He was lying on his back as hard as armor plate, and when he lifted his head a little he saw his vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, to whose dome the cover, about to slide off completely, could barely cling. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with size of the rest of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes” (Kafka 255). Renowned German writer, Franz Kafka, wrote the short story “The Metamorphosis (translated from its original German title: "Die Verwandlung")” in 1912 and later published in 1915 to much acclaim from both casual readers and critics alike. “The Metamorphosis” shares many characteristics of Fairy Tales, particularly that of the popular “Beauty and the Beast” tale and the “loathly lady” tales, but with some divergences from the typical traits of most fairy tales. The shift in setting, atypical characters as compared with fairy tale characters, similar themes, and straying from the common “happily ever after” ending is cause for consideration of “The Metamorphosis” as an inversion of the fairy tale form.
He didn’t feel that he was wanted in or around work, his family, his friends, or anyone/place that he ever associated with. Gregor, in the first chapter, had been confronted by his boss to see if he was going to be in for work. He was fired after his boss learned that he won’t be and that his condition keeps him from working. His father had treated Gregor as an enemy. His sister was the only one that cared for him for the majority of the novela. He had been feared by most of his family. Even when his sister was playing the violin, Gregor had wanted to come out and see her. He did come out and was greeted with screaming and disgust. His own father went on a rampage and threw apples at Gregor. One stuck in the back of his shell for the rest of the book. Gregor had been shunned by his community, he had lost his position in his family as a human, a provider, a brother, and a son. Now, he is now an unwanted pet. His sense of belonging had been crushed, and he feels that others don’t desire his
In conclusion, because Gregor’s identity in his insect form was entirely based on his memory of having once been a human, and because of a lack of any physical proof of his past, he struggled with accepting his own humanness. During this stage of doubt and self-questioning, he went through a mental and physical metamorphosis, turning insane and drowning in depression and anxiety. However, the last straw for him was exactly his family’s refusal to accept him as a human, contributing to him finally breaking and giving up.
Helmut Richter analyzed the plot of The Metamorphosis in his essay. He depicts the main plot of the story to be Gregor’s failure at his work, which leads to his death. The climax of the story starts off early in the book. When Gregor wakes up one morning, he realizes that he has turned into a giant insect. Gregor was a salesman and his job required that he was very determined in his work. Kafka proves to us that Gregor did not do a good job as a salesman by transforming into a bug: a strong work force. Kafka’s use of this metaphor stresses the poor work that Gregor does as a salesman.
One of Franz Kafka's most well-known and most often criticized works is the short story, "Die Verwandlung," or "The Metamorphosis." "The Metamorphosis" is most unusual in that the first sentence is the climax; the rest of the story is mainly falling action (Greenburg 273). The reader learns that Gregor Samsa, the story's main character, has been turned into an enormous insect. Despite this fact, Gregor continues to act and think like any normal human would, which makes the beginning of the story both tragic and comical at the same time. However, one cannot help but wonder why Gregor has undergone this hideous transformation, and what purpose it could possibly serve in the story. Upon examination, it seems that Gregor's metamorphosis represents both his freedom from maintaining his entire financial stability and his family's freedom from their dependence upon Gregor.
Gregor’s life slowly ends due to the betrayal of his his loved ones. He feels bad once his parents betray him and he feels he is an inconvenience. Then his sister is too busy and exhausted for him and he has nobody to help him or bring him food. Lastly, with nobody left Gregor betrays himself by simply allowing himself to die. Betrayal contributes a lot to this book as it is evident in every part of Gregor’s downfall. If Gregor’s family did not betray him, maybe they could have found him help to get better and back to normal. He also could have learned how to cope with his metamorphosis and lived with it everyday, however; Gregor’s family did betray him, and it slowly led him to end his life by starving
...trayed by his family, he is imprisoned in his room; however, he "thought back on his family with deep emotion and love". His affection for his family results in his conviction that he must disappear, so that he can bring them happiness and peace. Gregor sacrifices his life and dies during the night to save his family from hardship. He loves them unconditionally, like Jesus loves his people, and does not criticise them for betraying and mistreating him. Gregor's final sacrifice of his life is the strongest comparison of his Christ-like attributes.
The novel begins with Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to find out he has been transformed into a gigantic insect.
In The Metamorphosis Kafka illustrates a grotesque story of a working salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking up one day to discover that his body resembles a bug. Through jarring, almost unrealistic narration, Kafka opens up the readers to a view of Gregor’s futile and disappointing life as a human bug. By captivating the reader with this imaginary world Kafka is able to introduce the idea that Gregor’s bug body resembles his human life. From the use of improbable symbolism Kafka provokes the reader to believe that Gregor turning into a bug is realistic and more authentic compared to his unauthentic life as a human.